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Voters unhappy with Whitman's handling of housekeeper controversy, poll finds. What do you think?

October 24, 2010 | 9:12
am

The latest Los Angeles Times-USC poll found that a majority of those questioned believed Meg Whitman did not handle the controversy over her housekeeper's immigration status well.

The poll showed Democrat Jerry Brown with a 52% to 39% lead over Republican Whitman. Although it's not clear how much the housekeeper controversy has hurt Whitman, the poll offers some clues. According to Times Political Editor Cathleen Decker:

Overall, by 52% to 41%, voters said that Whitman had not handled the housekeeper controversy well. The same key voter groups — women, independents and Latinos — offered the harshest verdicts. When asked how Brown had handled the matter, voters were more divided, with 37% saying he did well and 43% saying he did not. Among independent voters, a plurality approved of Brown's actions.

The damage to Whitman's candidacy over the last month could be seen in a host of poll findings. The percentage of voters with an unfavorable view of her rose slightly from 47% to 52%, making her the only major candidate with a majority negative impression. Her favorable rating stayed at 37%.

In September, Nicandra Diaz Santillan held a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred to announce that she had been employed by Whitman for nine years, a period during which she said Whitman became aware of her illegal status. Whitman countered that she had not known of Diaz Santillan's status until shortly before firing her in 2009.